


Second Chances

by PagetPaulson



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-10
Updated: 2015-11-09
Packaged: 2018-04-30 21:55:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5181140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PagetPaulson/pseuds/PagetPaulson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emily runs into an old'not so hot'flame, and her old boyfriend starts to get a visit from the little green monster when he sees them getting a little too close.What happens when a potential romance starts to bud with Emily and Paul and Hotch can't take it?<br/>(Originally published 2011)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Emily put her growing bangs behind her ear as the horns of angry cars and frustrated taxi drivers blared around her. She tightened her fingers around her coffee cup as she tried to catch up with her boss and partner, only to close her eyes tight as a man elbowed her shoulder, causing her to bump in the street sign before the bustling street.

"Miss! I'm so sorry."

Emily sighed as she shrugged his hand from her shoulder, rolling her neck as she went to step onto the street. "It's fine."

"Emily?"

The brunette's eyebrows furrowed as she turned, looking to the tall dark haired man in front of her, his briefcase hanging off his shoulder. "Do I know you?'

He smiled shyly before nodding, scratching his dark brown head of hair. "Yeah, we met in Georgia. You know, pretended to hit on me in that tiny black dress with your insanely dark makeup."

Emily's mouth dropped as she heard Hotch calling her name. Her big eyes took in the man before her, seeing his dark jeans and white button down, his cream jacket contrasting with his brown shoes and brown briefcase. His makeup was completely gone. "Viper?"

"I actually go by Paul now."

Emily let out an exasperated laugh as she nodded her head. "Wow, you sure clean up nice."

Paul smiled at the younger woman, his eyes twinkling when he noticed she was wearing a dark purple dress and a black blazer, her shiny black heels lighting up the concrete beneath her. "You look good yourself. You look nice with no bangs."

Emily bit her lip as she nodded slowly. "So, what are you doing in New York?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Well I asked you first."

Paul smirked. "Wel-"

"Emily!"

Both turned to see Hotch and Reid walking up to them. "Prentiss I've been calling your name for two minutes. What's wrong?"

Emily shook her head before taking a long sip of her coffee. "Hotch I'm sorry, I was just catching up with Paul."

Hotch and Reid turned their heads to the tall man, and Reid's eyes immediately widened as Hotch frowned. "Paul Thomas? 'Viper', I assume you're not going by anymore."

Paul sunk his teeth into his bottom lip before nodding slowly. "Yeah. Well, Emily it was nice to see you again, but I better get going. I have a new job down on 5th."

Emily's face immediately fell before she quickly nodded, her smile not reaching her eyes. She sucked her lips in before looking from her boss to Paul. "Yeah, it was nice to see you too. So, if you're ever near Quantico…"

"Yeah." Paul smiled, his ear slowly reaching up to itch his ear where one of his earrings once hung. "I'll call you so you can show me around or something." He smiled wide and looked into her sparkling eyes before nodding. "I'll see you later."

Emily nodded slowly as she watched him walk away, her eyes slowly drifting to his legs and ass, which she hadn't noticed before but had so much shape. She quickly looked to her teammates and smiled. "So, where are we going again?"

"Emily, what were you doing talking with Viper?"

She shrugged as before taking another sip of coffee. "He bumped into me and I was just being polite."

Reid's eyebrows quirked as he looked to his older friend. "Emily you're eyes began dilating the second you saw him, and when we found you speaking with him your body began visibly tensing, but not so visible that Paul didn't see it…or maybe he did! I really wouldn't know sinc-"

"Spencer!"

His face immediately slacked and his eyes went down to his fingers.

Hotch glared at his subordinate before shaking her shoulder slightly. "Emily, you can't be in contact with him."

Emily shook her head and she chuckled nervously. "I didn't really plan on it. We just bumped into each other, Hotch, and I was being polite. Did I not just cover this?"

Hotch let his anger fuse down when he saw her eyes soften on him, her teeth lightly sinking into her bottom lip as her fingers practically crushed the cup in her hand. "Yeah, alright. We need to get to the base."

…

Emily sighed as she plopped down on her hotel bed, her pajamas hugging her snuggly as her head laid in her pillow.

"God I hate New York."

Her eyes were just about to drift shut, her blanket draped just below her waist and her fingers gripping her pillow, when she heard the phone go off. She let out the loudest groan she could before sitting up, snatching the phone out of it's holder. "Hello?"

"…Agent Prentiss?"

"Yes, it's Agent Prentiss, and it's also almost two in the fucking morning! What the hell is this call for? Oh it better be good buddy, or I SWEAR TO GOD I'm gonna come down to that front desk and cut off your little ba-"

"There's a man down here."

Emily's eyebrows furrowed as she ran her fingers through her hair. "I don't know any men from here. Send him away."

"Agent Prentiss, he says you called him here. His name is Paul Thomas."

Emily's eyes immediately widened as she nodded against the phone. "Tell him I'll be right down."

She quickly hung up the phone and slipped on her Uggs that she remembered to slip into her go-bag, and ran to the small mirror above the dresser and fixed her hair. She ran as fast as she could down the steps until she reached the first floor, breathing heavily and smoothing down her t-shirt. She made her way to the lobby, her eyes immediately going to the front desk where a man's back was turned to her. He was wearing jeans and a purple button down, his brown hair neatly brushed. She slowly walked up to him and tapped his shoulder, smiling nervously when he turned around. "Paul. What are you doing here?"

Paul's smile was wide as he gently pushed her over to the front entrance of the hotel. "I noticed that when we spoke earlier on the street, no one gave the other their number."

Emily bit her lip as she immediately nodded. "Yeah, I noticed that too." She watched as he took a card out of his pocket, and delicately placed it in her hand. "It's my new business card, has all my numbers on it."

She smiled up at him before pushing her hair behind her ear. "So how's your new life? You know, without hitting on every single girl you see in that ridiculous ensemble of yours, and talking to lowlife men who are tired of spending every minute of the night with their hand."

Paul let out a laugh when she said that all with a bright smile, and he nodded, his fingers playfully tugging on her shirt sleeve. "It's actually pretty damn good. Feels a lot more…fulfilling, I guess you'd say. I know that sounds really cheesy, but it's true."

Emily looked up to see his eyes small and honest, the brown almost matching his pupils. "A little cheesy, but believable. And you know, I know it seems weird and kind of selfish that I'm just taking interest in you now, and really high school of me…"

"You're taking interest in me?"

Emily's eyes immediately widened as a familiar heat crept up her cheeks. "W-Well, maybe not an 'I wanna date you' kinda way, b-but an 'I kinda feel like we could be friends' type of interest. D-Does that make sense, Paul?"

Paul held in a chuckle before putting his hand on her shoulder. "Let's just say yes. And I really understand why you haven't taken an interest in me before, I wasn't that attractive. On the inside or out."

Emily bit her lip, her hand slowly taking his off her shoulder and holding it in her hand. "Paul? Have you really changed? Like, really and truthfully?"

"I like to think I have."


	2. Chapter 2

Emily bit her lip as she made her way down the steps of the jet, her heart calming as she saw her black Toyota Yaris sitting perfectly near the end of the tarmac. Just as she stepped off of the last step on the small staircase, her breath caught in her throat as the tip of her boot got caught in the bottom of the railing, sending her and her go-bag sailing to the ground. Every member of the team was immediately at her side, JJ, Derek and Rossi helping her stand while Reid and Hotch went to fetch her bag.

Hotch let Reid bring her the black bag while he went for the scattered items, cursing slightly as he tried to put the battery back in her phone. His eyes flew to a small white piece of paper that stuck itself under the staircase of the jet, and his fingers immediately went to retrieve it.

Emily smiled at everyone as she shouldered her bag, thanking them before looking over to her boss. "Hotch? Can I have my phone please?"

When there was no answer, she walked over to him and tapped his back, waiting patiently as he slowly turned around. Emily pushed her straightened hair behind her ears as she looked into her boss' sad eyes. "Hotch what's the matter?"

Hotch let out a humorless chuckle as he showed her the card in his hand. "You took his phone number?"

Emily's eyes widened as she snatched the card from his hand, shoving it into the outer pocket of her go-bag. "Not that it's any of your business, but yes. I took his number. Is that a problem Aaron?"

Hotch gave a dry laugh as he tried not to blush when her eyes glanced at his lips. "Yes Emily, it's a problem. You can't fraternize with someone who used to be a key suspect in a case. You know better than that!"

"Excuse me, but as I recall he was not a suspect, he was a link to a suspect. And he's changed, Hotch. He's sweet and he's gotten his act together. And who cares if I want to get to know him and be his potential friend? Well let me tell you, you sure as hell shouldn't care!"

"Emily you are my friend, this is my business."

Emily let out a scoff as she pulled her vibrating phone out from her boss' hand. "Everything that happens to me stopped being your business when you broke up with me." Her eyes were hard as she pressed the answer button on her phone, covering the speaker with her other hand. "You are no longer able to have a say in what I do or when I do it. So stay out of my life."

Hotch watched as she walked over to her car, the phone pressed to her ear and a small smile crossing over her face as she got to her door. He felt his stomach twist painfully as she let out a small laugh and nodded against her phone, her athletic figure slipping into her car, blocking his view of his former love.


	3. Chapter 3

Hotch sighed as he set his pen down next to the blotter on his desk, his fingers rubbing over his forehead as his daily migraine began to come back to him. The file on his desk contained pictures of brunette women in their mid to late thirties, all resembling the beautiful ebony haired woman down in the bullpen, just feet away from him and his office. He picked up his head and looked out his window, smiling slightly when he watched her curse at her computer and fling her pen into her trashcan.

He had really messed up with her. She wanted one simple thing in their long-term relationship, and he couldn't even give her that. And then her miscarriage had them arguing at every chance they got, once they saw each other they'd burst into tears and screams.

Then she'd finally left him after he told her that they were over. She'd moved back into her apartment and out of his house, and he had to console his son and explain what had happened to his Emmy. After hugging his crying son for hours on end, he had tucked him in before walking to his own room, bursting into his own set of tears.

Hotch stood from his desk and walked out to the catwalk, his eyes scanning over the bullpen and frowning as he saw a familiar face by the glass doors. "What the hell…"

…

Emily let out a groan as her computer froze once again, banging her head against the desk while hearing a chuckle from beside her. Her head immediately bolted up and she pointed an accusing finger at her friend. "Derek this is not funny, I'm trying to finish my report and it's freaking impossible!"

Derek shook his head slightly as his eyes widened. "Em, I didn't say anything."

The brunette's brows furrowed before her eyes darted towards the bullpen entrance doors when she heard a familiar voice. "Oh Emily Prentiss, still beating yourself up over me? I mean come on, we both knew I'd be back. If you waited just another second I could have surprised you the way I wanted."

Emily immediately jumped from her seat and ran to the man with a bouquet of lilies in his hand, a wide smile on her face as he gently hugged her torso. "Paul what are you doing here?"

Paul smiled at the slightly smaller woman and bent down to kiss her cheek, watching a soft blush creep over her face. "I came to visit my mother and sister for awhile. I have a month off of work and since I'm staying only a few minutes away I thought I'd come and see you."

Emily bit her lip as she took the flowers from his hand. "That's so sweet." She slowly sniffed the tips of the bouquet and smiled up to the man. "How did you know I loved lilies?"

"You know the first time we met? The very sad and disturbing first time we met?"

Emily laughed and nodded.

"Well the first thing that hit me was the amazing scent of your perfume. At first I thought it was lavender so I looked all over for a perfume just like it, but I could never find one. Even when you had left and went back home, I felt obligated to actually go and find this scent. It was so intoxicating, and one day I was passing this flower shop. I completely froze when I smelled the scent I'd been roaming for and I ran inside and bought two dozen lilies." He smiled down at her when her eyes softened and his hand gave a small squeeze to her shoulder. "They reminded me of you. Their smell for one, but their beauty and innocence too. How they could make you smile the moment you laid your eyes on them."

Emily looked at him with wide eyes before spinning her head at the sound of sniffles. There stood Penelope Garcia with a tissue in her head. "That was so beautiful!"

Paul gave a laugh as the brunette in front of him quickly shooed the redhead away from them. He watched as Emily turned back around and gave him the sweetest of smiles, her lips pressing against the corner of his mouth. "That was so sweet. Thank you."

"Anything for you."

Emily took his hand and led him over to her desk before she set down the flowers before grabbing her coat and slipping it on. "So do you wanna go somewhere?"

Paul immediately nodded as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Of course, yeah. But sadly you have to give me the tour first. I don't know my way around here that well."

Emily smiled before shouldering her purse and taking his hand, squishing the flowers between their hands before waving to all of her friends and leading him out of the bullpen. Don't worry, that can be arranged."

Just as the elevator doors closed Hotch looked down to his shoes with blurry eyes, his fists clenched before walking back into his dark office.


	4. Chapter 4

Paul smiled as he watched the scenery go by, loving the feeling that his crush was sitting just a few inches away from him. He slowly turned his eyes to the brunette beauty driving the car and waited for her to give him a smile. "You wanna tell me where we're going?"

Emily bit her lip as she sheepishly looked away from his soft eyes, focusing back on the busy road ahead of her. "I told you I'd take you around, Paul. But I'm not giving you any hints of where we're going." She gave a quick glance and a wink to the man beside her. "Don't you like surprises?"

"Um, from experience I'd have to say no. Well, other the surprise of you showing up at the bar in that tiny dress."

The brunette smiled wide and gave a short laugh, her hands gripping the wheel as she turned them onto an exit. "Yeah, that was quite the surprise wasn't it?"

Paul nodded with a smile, his hands rubbing along his jean clad thighs. "But the sad part of that night was that we never got to finish that almost-kiss." He saw out of the corner of his eye that Emily stiffened in response, but a small smile was on her face. "I mean, the night was going so perfect and you were playing along with all of my shit…and your lips were so close to mine…"

Emily shook her head as her teeth began to grind against one another. "Paul I'm sorry to say, but the old you was not someone that I would want to kiss." She gave a short laugh as she heard a sigh from beside her. "Trust me when I say that I was sort of attracted to your confident personality, but I didn't like what you stood for. I didn't like the way you treated me and I hated the way you looked like an 80's clown!"

Paul gave a laugh as the brunette pulled the car into a parking lot, the rain starting to pour. "Ok, that I get."

Once the car was shut off, both brunettes jumped from their seats and slammed their car doors. Emily's eyes widened in surprise when she felt his hand grab hers, but she gave a smile before tugging on his hand and bringing him inside the bar.

Paul's eyes widened once they were inside the warm enclosure, his hand clutching onto Emily's for dear life when he saw practically every man in the bar turn his way, their eyes growling his way.

Emily looked up to the man beside her when she felt his hand smoothing down his hair. "What is it, Paul?"

"They're staring at me."

The brunette smirked as she squeezed his hand tight. "I'm a regular here, so I know most of them. And they know about my horrible relationships in the past, so they're gonna be a little hard on you."

Paul felt his throat constrict as Emily pulled him up to the bar and sat him down next to her. His ears heard her call over the bartender, but his eyes were fixed on a tattooed biker that sat not five feet away, his eyes glued to Paul's jugular.

Emily smiled as her friend made their way over to her, and she quickly grabbed onto Paul's hand. "Hey Roy!"

The taller blond smiled wide at the woman who tried to make it into this rathole at least once a week, his eyes shining as he crossed his muscular arms. "Well hello there, Miss Prentiss. I didn't get a chance to see you last week."

Emily nodded to the man before she looked over to Paul, watching as his shoulders relaxed just a bit at the sight of her calming eyes. "I had a little bit of business to take care of." She turned back to Roy, smiling seductively when she saw him flex his arms out. "But I'm back now, and I brought a date."

Paul grinned at the woman next to him and laid a sweet kiss on her temple. "A date, huh?"

Emily smiled to the man beside her and laid their joined hands on the table. "I'd like to think so, yes."


	5. Chapter 5

Emily smiled softly as she watched Paul speak with one of her friend's that she saw at the bar every time she came. Her eyes watched as the brunette's smile widened as he let out a laugh, his eyes brightening once he looked her way, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Em, you're not joining the conversation. Are you ok?"

Her eyes softened before she gave a nod, her hand squeezing his as she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. "Yeah, I'm good. I'm really good."

Paul waved the other man away, his eyes still trained on the beautiful woman in front of him before his fingers slowly traced across her pale cheek. "Are you having fun?"

"I am, yeah. It seems like you are too."

His eyes slowly widened when hers averted from his, her hands clasping the beer in front of her instead of his warm hand. "Oh Emily, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to get caught up in a conversation with that guy."

Emily immediately shook her head as she looked back up to him with a smile. "No Paul, it's totally fine. I'm glad you're making friends here." She gave a grin as her fingers glided across his subtle stubble. "Lets me know that I can take you here more often."

Paul smiled down to the shorter brunette and kissed her nose, taking her wandering hand in his. "That sounds promising."

"It does, does it?"

"Very."

Emily's eyes darkened slightly when they glanced down at his grinning lips, and she felt her heart speed pick up slightly as her tongue darted out to lick the corner of her mouth. "Do you wanna get out of here?" She grinned as his hand tightened around hers. "I could maybe show you a few more places."

Paul chuckled before helping her off the stool and holding her jacket out for her. "And what places would those be?"

"Well…" she put on her best thinking face as she slipped her arms through the sleeves of her coat. "There's a great thrift store just down the street, a nice movie theater a couple blocks away… and then there's my apartment."

The older man looked down in surprise, his mouth wide open. "You apartment?"

Emily smiled wide as she took his hand and led him outside into the foggy afternoon. "Trust me, you're not getting any of those special detours just yet, bud. But, I have an entire DVD series that I know you'd just love to watch with me."

"Which is?"

"Star Wars. Duh."

Paul grinned down to the brunette who tugged on his hand and slowly turned her around, backing her up slowly until her back gently hit the drivers side of her car. He watched as her eyes squinted up at him with curiosity before he bent his head down, softly capturing her lips with his.

Emily's eyes were wide as the older man's lips hit hers, his hands firmly cupping her elbows. When she felt him pull away, her shocked eyes looked up to him and she shook her head. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you kiss me?"

Paul let his eyes wander over her features before wiping a strand of hair from her forehead. "Every princess deserves to be kissed."


	6. Chapter 6

Her eyes were soft and dark as she opened the door to her apartment, leading the older man through the doorway before she threw her keys into the bowl she had near the coat closet. She smiled up to the brunette after locking the door. "Just make yourself at home and I'll get you something to drink."

Paul nodded, turning his date around and slipping her jacket from her slim frame. "If you get the drinks, I'll hang these up." He watched as she turned with a smile on her face. "Just tell me where."

Emily felt her heart calm in her chest as she pointed to the closet behind her. "Just in there."

She quickly made her way to the kitchen, flipping on the lights before she held onto the cold handle of the fridge and quickly opened the door. "Ok I have soda, water, milk, cranberry juice, beer and a couple cabernets." She turned to see the older man leaning against her countertop. "Which do you want?"

"Which do you recommend?"

Emily gave a grin before she shook her head. "I recommend your favorite."

The older man winked to the woman near the fridge, watching her shiver slightly as the cold reached her neck. "Do you wanna tell me my favorite?"

Emily groaned before stomping her foot on the ground, trying to fight the smile that was spreading over her face. "Will you just tell me what you want or am I gonna have to beat it out of you?"

Paul slowly stood from his spot at the counter, making his way towards the brunette woman and slipping his arms around her small waist. He smiled down to her when he saw her eyes softly trained on him, her tongue slowly wiping across her bottom lip. "Is it extremely corny if I said that I want you?"

The younger woman gave a small sigh when she felt his hands lay on the small of her back. She smiled up to the older man. "Extremely corny, yes."

"Can I kiss you anyway?"

Emily grinned before nodding her head. "You did it before, so you don't have to ask."

The older man quickly bent down, covering her pale lips with his. He smiled against the brunette's mouth, feeling her hands gripping his strong neck and he felt his heart jump in his chest when the younger woman let out a moan. He let his teeth nibble at Emily's bottom lip before he let her come up for air.

Emily let her eyes flutter open as her date pulled away, her tongue sliding over the bite mark Paul had left on her bottom lip. "Where in the hell did you learn to do that?"

"Oh princess, I learned it just for you."

The younger woman let out a snort before pushing the brunette away, bending down to grab two sodas from the bottom shelf of her fridge. "Ok you ruined the moment with the cockiness." She closed the door before placing one of the cans in the older man's hands. "Just go into the living room and wait for me, ok?"

Paul looked towards the younger woman, his brows furrowed. "You're not coming with me?"

Emily shook her head, smiling when she heard the 'snap' of the can's opening as she popped it open. "I'm hungry, and I'm betting you are too, so I'm going to get us a snack while you turn on the DVD. That sound ok?"

"What DVD was it again?"

Emily laughed as she watched the older man's retreating form head towards the living room. "Star Wars." She shook her head before setting the can down onto the counter, her fingers quickly pulling open her cabinets.

"Emily, there are like twelve different DVD cases labeled 'Star Wars'."

The brunette huffed as her eyes looked over every snack item that sat on the shelves. "Pick out whichever you want, I've seen them all."

She heard Paul laugh from his place in the living room. "If you've seen them all then why are we watching them today?"

"Well, you wanted to be with me and this is one of the many nerdy things I love to do." She threw a bag of popcorn into the microwave. "So either you walk out now or you learn to live with it and love it just as much as I do."

"I'll take the chance!"

Emily smiled just as her house phone began to ring. She quickly reached over the counter to pick the phone up out of its holder and pressed it against her ear. "Hello?"

"Emily?"

The brunette's eyes widened, her hip falling to lean against her granite counter. "Aaron?"

"Yeah, it's me."

Emily shook her head, her thumb immediately finding its way between her lips and underneath the bite of her teeth. "Why are you calling me? Do we have a case?"

"No, not exactly." There was a short pause at the other end. "I just wanted to see if everything was ok."

"What do you mean?"

"…I wanted to make sure that everything was good with you and Paul."

Emily's eyes narrowed as she listened to the kernels popping in the bag that began to heat in the microwave. "You wanted to make sure that everything was good with me and Paul. Tell me Aaron, why do you care?"

"Emily, I just wanted to make sure he was treating you right."

The brunette's eyes watered when she heard the sincerity in his voice, her jaw dropping open. "What?"

"Well I know that I didn't treat you the way I should have, and I needed to make sure that Paul was going to." She heard him clear his throat at the other end. "You're too good a person to not be treated like a princess."

Emily felt her heart drop into her stomach when she heard him give her the name Paul had not long ago. "Aaron…"

"I just needed to know that everything was ok. That you were ok."

Emily slowly nodded her head against the phone, hearing the beeping of her microwave from behind her which told her that her and Paul's snack was done. "We're ok. I'm ok." She bit her lip when she heard him nod against his phone. "Thank you for worrying, Aaron."

"You may not be my girlfriend, Emily…but I would like to think we're still friends."

Just as Emily opened her mouth to speak, she heard the older man call to her from the living room. "Hey Em! I put in the DVD. Do you need any help in there?"

The brunette set the phone against her chest. "No I'm ok, thanks. I'll be there in a minute." She lifted the phone back up to her ear, her fingers almost caressing the cold plastic. "I'll see you at work, Aaron."

"Of course. Have a nice evening, Em."

"You too."


End file.
